Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including California lawmakers have prioritized new ways to tackle the root causes behind climate change and gun violence; The Supreme Court considered whether the ability of the Islamic State group to post on Twitter amounts to aiding and abetting; The U.N.’s top court ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement along the roadway to a separatist enclave, and more.

National

Justices parse Twitter’s role in Islamic State attacks

The Supreme Court spent nearly three hours Wednesday on the question of whether the ability of the Islamic State group to post on Twitter amounts to aiding and abetting.

The Twitter logo appears on an updated phone post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Debt over spouse’s fraud can’t be discharged, high court rules

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a woman must stay on the hook for fraudulent omissions that her husband made when the couple flipped a house in San Francisco for $2.1 million.

San Francisco, as seen from the Marin headlands. (Chris Marshall/Courthouse News Service)

Oil rig supervisor earning six figures prevails at high court on overtime claims

A pair of Supreme Court justices balked Wednesday after their colleagues in the majority found that an oil rig supervisor was eligible for overtime pay even though his daily rate already earned him up to a quarter-million dollars a year.

The Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Regional

California lawmakers lead charge against climate change, gun violence in 2023 session

Thousands of bills have been introduced in the California Legislature, and with the deadline to bring new business past it appears gun control, climate change and transparency top the list of priorities for lawmakers.

In this July 8, 2014 photo is a sign alerting visitors to water conservation efforts at the state Capitol in Sacramento. Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom extended California's drought emergency to all counties, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Virginia gun control advocates face GOP roadblock

Bills aimed at curbing gun violence were turned away by the newly Republican-controlled House of Delegates, leaving Democrats hoping for a better chance next year.

Isabel White from Parkland, Fla. holds a sign that reads "Americans for Gun Safety Now!" during the “March for Our Lives” rally in support of gun control in Washington, Saturday, March 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

International

UN high court tells Azerbaijan to clear roadway to separatist enclave

The United Nations' highest court ordered Azerbaijan on Wednesday to ensure free movement along the only highway between the Armenian border and a majority ethnically Armenian region inside Azerbaijan.

The scene of damage a day after shelling by Armenian's artillery during fighting over the Armenian separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Ganja, Azerbaijan, in October 2020. (AP Photo)

Ex-president Calderón defends against Mexican public opinion after García Luna verdict

A former president of Mexico is defending himself in the court of public opinion after the top cop in his administration was found guilty of colluding with drug cartels in a U.S. federal court.

Former Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa speaks at a conference in April 2022 in this photo taken from his Facebook account. (Facebook via Courthouse News)

Science

Evidence of brain surgery found in Bronze Age brothers

One of the most ancient practices in medicine verified part of its vast primordial timeline this week, where researchers unearthed a tomb in modern Israel displaying evidence of a rare form of neurosurgery dating back to the early Late Bronze Age between 1550 and 1450 B.C.

Bioarchaeological context of this study. A: The Area H (H-15) domestic structure, with Tomb 45 highlighted in yellow. B: In-situ photograph of early exposure of burial context. C: Composite drawing featuring all layers. Individual 1 is blue, Individual 2 is green, faunal remains are orange. (Kalisher et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0/Courthouse News)

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